Teddy Bears
by Wolfen Dreams
Summary: Kirk was not aware of how strong the camaraderie on board the Enterprise was until the teddy bears started showing up.


AN) Based off of the teddy bears seen here: http :/ / .com/ product/ show/ 55117

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Captain James T. Kirk was under the firm belief that he had the best crew ever. It had been proven time and time again that they could not lose. They'd survived just about everything it was possible to survive and that wasn't even what made them the best. Because they got along. He'd heard far too many of the other captains complaining about how their science officer wouldn't stop picking on the helmsman, and how the communications officer seemed determined to get the chief engineer thrown out of an airlock. Or how the crew all seemed to hate the captain behind his back (he was really grateful to not be falling victim to this one, seeing as the captain complaining of this spoke of how his things were always mysteriously lost, tasks were always performed later than he had asked for, and insulting rumors were whispered while he was still in earshot).

Needless to say, he was grateful that despite the near-death experiences and one in a million odds, there weren't any fistfights on the bridge. Between the crew. For the most part. Still, he wasn't aware of how strong the camaraderie was among his crew until the bears started showing up.

It had started in the sickbay. He walked in to discover a child in the sickbay. He could not quite remember why there was a child in the Enterprise's sickbay, because the memory of that was far overshadowed by what was in the little girl's arms. A medium sized brown bear wearing a golden Starfleet shirt with Starfleet regulations pants and boots was being suffocated by the little girl's vigorous cuddling as Bones shot her with a hypo.

"Bones?" Jim asked.

"Hm?"

"What is that?" Bones looked up distractedly to check what Jim was referring to.

"It's a Captain Kirk Bear. The stuffing is synthetically engineered to be hypoallergenic and has a lifetime guarantee of being the most satisfactory cuddle-buddy in the consumer's possession." Jim paused. And stared. And then stared some more, just for good measure, in case Bones shouted out that it was April Fool's Day (Jim didn't know how Bones would know that in space, but clearly it was the only explanation).

"But… But… It doesn't look anything like me!" Jim spluttered indignantly. Bones paused a moment, and turned to stare at Jim.

"It's a bear. Did you expect it to look like you?"

"But… What's it doing in the sickbay?"

"Have you ever treated a sick child? They always need stuffed animals."

"Why would you expect to be treating children? I can't think of any good reason to expect to treat children up here!"

"Well, we are now, aren't we?" Bones said, nodding towards the girl still obliviously cuddling the bear. "Anyway, a good doctor is prepared for anything. You never know what your patients are going to need. Better off having it and not needing it."

"And why did that stuffed animal have to be a Captain Kirk Bear?" Jim asked. He tried to sound upset about it, but his smugness over someone making a stuffed animal out of him might have come though.

"We have the real Captain Kirk on our ship. Why not the bear? They were selling Spock Bears too." For the second time in that conversation, Jim found himself nearing speechlessness.

"Wha- Where can I get one?!" He shouted, a little too excitedly. Bones stared at him for a moment.

"Most stores sell them, Jim. In case you didn't notice, you and Spock saved the Earth. That made the two of you into something of celebrities. Why do you want a stuffed animal of him?" Jim's wide eyes and excitement was starting to scare Bones a little bit, really.

"I think you might be happier left in the dark for this one, Bones." With that rather ambiguous statement, Jim hurried out the door.

-

On the bridge, a few weeks later, Jim was smirking in his Captain's chair, waiting for his Science Officer to arrive at his station. Although no one dared mention it, most of the bridge crew seemed to believe that the Captain was unhealthily excited for some reason. He was positively fidgeting, and occasionally suspicious noises that may or may not have resembled a schoolgirl giggling came from the vicinity of his chair.

When Spock finally did arrive on the bridge, Jim's face split into a wide grin.

"Captain?" Spock asked.

"Yes, Commander Spock?"

"I am not sure if I understand the message you sent to me this morning. Did you want me to switch shifts? Why did you not require my presence today?" Another suspicious giggle followed by a smirk from the Captain.

"Well, you see Spock. I found a replacement who can complete your duties for you." Jim gestured towards Spock's station. Spock walked over to the station, and raised an eyebrow.

"Captain?"

"Yes, Commander Spock?"

"What is this?" In Spock's hands, there was a teddy bear. A white teddy bear, with pointed ears, wearing science blues and Starfleet uniform, and a tiny sign that said 'Live long and prosbear' was held in his hands. Jim promptly fell into fits of laughter and was incapable of explaining the toy to Spock.

"It iz a Spock Bear!" came the shout from Chekov's station.

"…A Spock Bear, Ensign Chekov?" Spock asked, ignoring the Captain who still had not emerged from his fits of laughter.

"Yes. It iz sold along with the Keptain Kirk Bear. See?" Chekov held up the Captain Kirk Bear that had been sitting at his station. At this point, Jim stopped laughing.

"Ensign? Why do you have that bear?"

"I have one too!" Sulu shouted from the helm. Soon enough, the bridge was filled with confessions of the possession of bears. Uhura confessed to having a Spock bear identical to the one currently in Spock's hand (Jim may have imagined it, but for a second it looked as if Spock was blushing green. He made a mental note to tease him about it later) while Spock admitted to having a Kirk Bear hidden in his cabin.

Over the next few weeks, Jim discovered many of the Captain Kirk Bears and Spock Bears hidden across the ship. One sitting in the mess, another hidden among the warp nacelles in engineering, and at least one in every cabin on the ship. It made him proud to discover that he was so well-loved among his crew that they bought teddybears in his likeness. Although, he suspected that whoever sold these things must have made a fortune off of the crew of the Enterprise alone. Jim paused for a moment, and thought about it.

"DAMNIT!" He shouted. "Why aren't I getting any royalties from these things!"


End file.
